Category: MDP On TV

Well crime drama doesn’t get much better than The Killing aka by its Danish title Fobrydelsen. I started watching it a while back with my husband and he found it slow, so I never even got to finish episode one. When I sat down with it the second time, I watched it alone and didn’t have to worry about anyone else enjoying it!

It is a slowly told story but the power of the series is in that drawn-out pacing. Each of the twenty episodes depicts 24 hrs in the investigation of the murder of a young woman named Nanna Birk Larsen.

Without excpetion, it is incredibly well cast. However, my favourite performances were from Sofie Gråbøl, Søren Malling, Lars Mikkelsen and Ann Eleonora Jørgensen. Sofie (obsessed and clever Detective Sarah Lund) and Lars (obsessed and clever politican Troels Hartman) are outstanding.

Set in Copenhagen in winter, the backdrop to the story is relentlessly grey and miserable.The city’s mood combines with the detailed, complex narrative to draw the viewer deep into Lund’s gloomy hunt. After watching each episode, I had that sensation of really having to shake off the fictional world to re-enter the real one.

I was thrilled by the brilliantly portrayed character of detective Sarah Lund who becomes so immersed in the chase that her personal life totally unravels. Her obsession makes her unpredictable and she risks everything to find the answer. There was something very realistic about the dialogue and the dynamics of the relationships (even taking into account that some of the translation was obviously a bit naf).

The Killing also brings an added dimension to TV crime by the fact that it gives weight to the lives of the victim’s family after the crime, as well as the actual investigation. This works to invest the viewer in their loss and makes the journey even more immersive. Several false leads are pursued, and each one of them feels totally credible. The story cleverly circles back on itself, and details are rehashed. A second layer of story is splashed across the top as Lund tries to tie in a previous murder, and Troels, negotiates the dirty world of politics, while trying to maintain some personal integrity and minimise the damage Nanna’s murder has had on him and his election campaign.

Engrossing, believable and grim. Lund triumphs but at what cost?

Highly Recommended (and thanks to Peri Wilson for suggesting it while we were on book tour together). I have series 2 ready to go, (which I’ve heard is even better) but I’m holding off until I can settle in and enjoy it without interruption.

Dana Delaney stars as a neurosurgeon forced into becoming a coroner because she can no longer operate. She’s depicted as arrogant, socially awkward and has high heels surgically attached to her feet (just kidding!).

I’ve watched the first season and may go back for the second, but more from idle curiosity than any real compulsion to follow the story. Body of Proof while at times amusing, is for the most part, uninspiring.

Two elements of the show work for me. First, is the sub-plot of Megan (Dana Delaney) trying to reconnect with her daughter. Though I don’t buy the whole “I was a bad mother thing”, her attempt to get to know her daughter again is, on occasions, quite touching.

The second highlight is the humour brought to the screen by the character Curtis (Windell Middlebrooks who is funny without even trying). His uhumms and eye-rolls are delivered with immaculate timing. Oh and Jeri Ryan adds glamour to anything she’s in.

Unfortunately, the murder mysteries are very pedestrian and Sonja Sohn (The Wire) is badly cast. She’s not a lightweight actor and she’s wasted in this part.

Body of Proof is a switch-off-the-brain kind of viewing. I believe several central characters a replaced in series 3, so I might see it through to find out how that works out. Also, Rick Fox makes a guest appearance in series 2 and I HAVE to see that.

Catching glimpses of SILK on TV it struck me as a tad slow moving but as seems to happen when I start watching something from scratch on DVD and get the proper rythmn of the show, I changed my mind.

I’m a huge fan of Rupert Penry-Jones and enjoy his and Maxine Peake’s onfilm relationship in this show. Clive (Penry-Jones) is respectful but envious of Martha (Peake), and she is fond of, but often exasperated by, him. They seem to have a good understanding of each other and an enduring friendship whilst seriously competing for SILK. It’s quite a beautifully drawn dynamic. The other highlight for me is the brassy clerk Billy; old school and not beyond stepping outside the law, to make things work in the Shoe Lane chambers. Politics, drama and suspense all portrayed at a most credible level.

There is nothing flashy or technologically profound about this show, just some good writing and terrific acting. I’m looking forward to series two and feel quite irritated by the criticisms levelled at series creator and writer Peter Moffat, suggesting this is second rate and not up to his usual standard. The critics sound a pretentious as some of the barristers in the show.